Tesla Board Greenlights $29B Stock Windfall for Elon Musk—Largest in Corporate History

Elon Musk just hit the corporate jackpot—again. Tesla's board rubber-stamped a $29 billion stock award for its CEO, dwarfing most Fortune 500 companies' market caps. Here's why shareholders aren't popping champagne.

The compensation endgame

This isn't Musk's first rodeo with mega-grants. The package—structured as performance-based equity—comes as Tesla battles shrinking margins and Cybertruck production hell. Board claims it 'aligns incentives.' Critics call it a golden parachute with rocket boosters.

Wall Street's muted reaction

Analysts note the award represents 8% of Tesla's current valuation. 'For that price, you could buy Hyundai outright,' quipped one short-seller. Meanwhile, retail investors shrug—used to Musk's reality-distortion field by now.

The cynical take

Another masterclass in extracting value from public markets while preaching techno-utopianism. The board might as well have wired the funds directly to Mars colonization LLC.

Key Takeaways

• Tesla's board approved paying CEO Elon Musk 96 million shares in an "Interim Award" under the electric vehicle maker's 2019 Equity Incentive Plan.
• At Friday's closing price, that values the package at approximately $29 billion.
• Musk won't receive the award if courts change course and give approval to his 2018 compensation package worth some $56 billion.

The world's richest man just got a lot richer.

In a regulatory filing, Tesla (TSLA) reported that CEO Elon Musk would receive 96 million shares of restricted stock as part of an "Interim Award" under the electric vehicle maker’s 2019 Equity Incentive Plan. At Friday's closing price of $302.63, that would value the agreement at about $29 billion.

The company noted the decision came after the board earlier this year "established a special committee ... to consider certain compensation matters involving Elon Musk." That committee, consisting of disinterested directors Robyn Denholm and Kathleen Wilson-Thompson, made the recommendation, which was approved by the board yesterday.

Tesla noted the stock will vest two years from now, providing Musk remains CEO or holds another key executive position, and he will have to pay $23.34 per share for them. However, he will forfeit all the award if the courts eventually decide he can receive the estimated $56 billion pay package from 2018 that was approved by shareholders. A Delaware judge struck down that deal, agreeing with plaintiffs who argued that it was excessive. 

Tesla shares were up about 1% today, but they've lost nearly a quarter of their value year-to-date.

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